The school board has a budget in excess of 50 million dollars, am I really to believe this to be a suitable “practice ground” for 16 year olds?

Perhaps a school is the best place to “learn about candidates, politics and how to interpret the media and politicians” and mock elections, which are already happening in the schools, a very suitable tool for educating the children. Most of the politicians running for these trustee positions when the kids are 16/17 years old will be running again when the kids are eligible to vote, so it is up to the politicians to get involved in the process at school and then conduct themselves in such a way the 18 year olds will be happy to re-elect them.

It’s true the earlier they get involved the more likely they are to vote throughout their lives, but 18 should be early enough to get that process rolling.